1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Special Summoned OR, when a Level 5 or higher monster is Special Summoned to your opponent's side of the field: Target 1 Special Summoned monster your opponent controls; return that target to the hand. You can only use the effect of "Moon Flower Dragon - Black Rose" once per turn.

Orient Dragon is sufficient for a Level 6, even if it's use is a bit situational. It has limitations rather than weaknesses, and its only real downside is below-average power. The utility of uncommon levels I've found isn't that you get into them often, but they are easy to make if you need a certain type of removal option.

One thing is for sure: with Moon Dragon, my deck will have massive Synchro superiority over practically every other Synchro deck, even last format's Dragon Rulers.

You do know you're quoting from the anime effect part of Number C80, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikia

You can target 1 Xyz Monster you control; equip this monster you control to that target. It gains 2000 ATK. If a monster equipped with this card would be destroyed, destroy this card instead. If this card has "Number 80: Rhapsody in Berserk" as an Xyz Material, it gains this effect.
● You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 card on the field; banish that target.

Once per turn, when a monster is Special Summoned (including this card): Target 1 monster on the field; return it to the hand.

What this means: it can't be summoned on an open field, or it'll bounce itself. It can also hurt the owner by preventing him/her from summoning more monsters. It's basically an uncontrollable version of Pleiades with a smaller body.

The "nerf" only hurts the opponent, and bounces ANY Special Summoned monster when the condition is met. When it's Special Summoned for the first time, it can bounce an XYZ. Just to use its effect again the opponent has to summon a Level 5 monster. Just summoning it once, no matter the circumstances though, is an immediate +1 in advantage. Getting more out of it is just gravy.

The mentality that Black Rose Dragon, Beelze are good cards but Moon Flower is bad suggests anti-control sentiment. These are players that summon one monster and try to sit on it for the whole game. These are the kinds of people who throw fits at spell/trap cards hurting their plays instead of working around them.

Cool story: using Bujins I beat Laval Quasar in a Match game even though they sacked Rekindling on the first turn in both, and summoned Quasar both times. No matter how powerful the boss, it can't overcome sheer card advantage.

Skill Prison is legal now, but in response I've noticed players are (subconsciously?) playing around it.

The card is good because it eats up MSTs and dodges anything that negates on the field, but in the games since Legacy of the Valiant went green players aren't using the blind MST anymore. They're waiting for people to MST into MST, then chain it to something. At the same time, I've found few monster effects that pop my cards, and the "can't be used the turn sent to grave" restriction really bites when the card is milled.

I've never actually found success with it. By contrast, I think I've finally gotten comfortable with My Body as a Shield as a replacement for Starlight Road and similar anti-destruction cards. Stardust Dragon is better, but surprisingly, only slightly.

EDIT: Immense buttrage!

I drove Gaia Dragon through his Battle Fader, then finished him off with Armades, and he was so mad he called the admin and stalled for 15 minutes while I complained!

I swapped out the Skill Prisoners for Black Horns of Heaven. They're surprisingly a lot more useful than they should be. No, they don't stop hand traps like Effect Veiler, but as said earlier I've found fewer cases of it being effective MST bait, usually since:

1. If I set one, I often have to set something else like a Reckless Greed.
2. If I set one, and the opponent MST's, I usually have Stardust Dragon out anyway

The horns are better as they can simply stop the Extra Deck removal option on summon. They work like a nasty hybrid of Warning/BTH with a narrower removal option. Maxx "C" also works as the complementary counter to effect summons, since it can be chained.

Now see Dopple, your opponent made a grave mistake right from the start! He was using 4-axis, not 3-Axis. *shot*

My first foray with the deck, and I pretty handily crush a Hieratic deck that was lucky enough to open with two!Tefnuits. It's a shame that deck is so fragile. 3-Axis is a nice change for me, since I've tried 4-Axis without giving 3 much thought. I've done a little YGOPro AI testing and I've found the main issue is everything filling up so quickly. ^^; Hence cards like Swallow and Buffalo, they can quickly clear out a lot of Fire Formations at a time, while providing important things for the deck(Buffalo provides more consistent Rank 4 plays, while Swallow gives me access to Kirin.)

The only Hieratics I see now are Hieratic Ruler, which is actually pretty strong if they get that Hieratic Seal trap out. Mythic Rulers really needs more support before it can see similar popularity.

3-Axis has always been more popular in the TCG because it's a combo deck, and the biggest differences between TCG/OCG is that TCG loves combos, while OCG is very control focused. Hence, why in the most recent banlist for OCG it was the overpowering control cards that got hit (Ophion, Bubbleman) alongside the Dragon Rulers and their support, although it's just a hand slap compared to the TCG hits because the TCG hits also nerfed control.

Also, the big theme with most of my wins these days seems to be Volcasaurus, who I will continue to extol as a ridiculously OP with an unholy synergy with Synchro 5 decks. The massive irony is I've seen a lot less GaGaGa Cowboy played, and that was the card that got me hooked on the idea of Volcasaurus.

This poor sap was going to let Clausolas negate Maiden until I brought it up. Wouldn't have mattered either way, though!

4-Axis is played a lot because of the Rank 4 toolbox, which just got stronger with Honors Ark and Excition Knight. Up until the September banlist, 3-Axis was definitely the more played Fire Fist but Dragon Ruler spam (leading to maindecking triple Maxx "C") and Evilswarm popularity lead to its decline.

When I recommended 4-Axis to Talon, 4-Axis was the less popular build, hence why in most of the games you see of Talon's where he was in a "mirror match" he was playing against 3-Axis. Right now though, 4-Axis is actually the weaker build but it hasn't taken time to sink in yet...the lack of control cards is why, since 4-Axis is largely a advantage/control deck, but not an aggro focused one.

The majority of the YGO population I've found is dumb, and it takes time for some ideas to take root that goes contrary to traditional thinking. YCS just reflects people taking decks they think will win based on past performance. For example, last format was heavily influenced by the YCS Toronto that happened right after the banlist, Blue-Eyes Ruler, Dragunity Ruler and Assault Ruler all debuting at that tournament. Like a lot of people said, players were so convinced DRs were OP they were ignoring other decks just to play it even if it wasn't truly a "Tier 0" deck like the original was, just a solid Tier 1 deck.

By the end of the format, if players haven't adapted back toward anti-spam contingencies, I wouldn't be surprised if 3-axis became the dominant build again.

A lesson on the importance of experience, and why it is lacking in the TCG:

This Prophecy player had my by the balls on his second turn, but a handful of things happened:

-he didn't think to Fiendish Chain Librarian (mistake #1), which allowed me to draw into answers. This might have been because I blind MST'd his Book of Moon
-I set a Foolish Burial as a bluff, with Effect Veiler in hand, and his Priestess picked the Foolish of all the traps to pop, instead of Librarian. That + my set horn would have been the best outcomes, so he had a 50% chance of messing up big.
-He used Power on Justice of Prophecy, I chain Lance, then he uses Wisdom and calls Spells (mistake #2). He then attacks into Librarian. Big mistake! Justice dies and he's forced to run over something else (poorly choosing Balmung) and let me OTK him on the next turn, working through the tardy Fiendish to kill Priestess and push for game.

A note that I got so pissed off with Hope for Exodia, I subbed out one of my horns for the DW staple, Dragged Down from the Grave. I had the best possible use for it in this game, discarding Level Eater and removing his Dark Hole. I also got to see what was in his hand.

This guy might be a rookie with Prophecy, I reckon. But from his experience you can tell if he's not, the TCG lacks something in player quality:

Most people sadly don't have a fluxxin clue how to play Prophecy. It's very much a resource management deck combined with a good amount of control(Wisdom, Fate, Priestess, Jowgen.) I've seen people run weird cards in the deck, though myself personally I've come to the conclusion that Kycoo is about 1000x more terrifying when its backed up by Star Hall. I really don't get why people don't play Star Hall. It's kinda important since your main boss only has 2500 ATK, and without it Stardust Dragon or any of its forms will just wear you out.

People should watch what they enjoy regardless of what others think, even if it's a terribad guilty pleasure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Though, I also dislike the concept of lamenting the current day while wishing to re-experience the past. At least, my modern attitude is to try and make each new day magical even if it's not, since exclusively reminiscing about the past is too pathetic.